<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Deleted Solar System by Schattengestalt</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25877047">The Deleted Solar System</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schattengestalt/pseuds/Schattengestalt'>Schattengestalt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who &amp; Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Explanations, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Time Travel, Timey-Wimey, Trust Issues, Unexpected Visitors</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:20:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,498</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25877047</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schattengestalt/pseuds/Schattengestalt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock hasn't deleted his knowledge about the solar system, because he's deemed it unimportant, but he's had a good reason for such a drastic action. When said reason, suddenly walks into his flat - and back into his life - though, it gets complicated. </p>
<p><cite>There, next to the entrance to the Tube station, stood a blue police box. Or rather, a blue police box had been </cite>parked,<cite> next to the entrance to the Tube station. Sherlock clenched the fabric of the curtain in his hand. Years, it had been years, two decades even, since he had last seen this police box. </cite></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ninth Doctor &amp; Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Unexpected Visitors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The idea to this story wouldn't leave me alone, until I wrote it down. It's not a WIP, but it's already completed, so you can start reading the story, without worry. I'll upload the next chapter, next Friday and the final one, the week after.<br/>And now: Enjoy! =)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Unexpected Visitors</h3>
<p>"Sherlock!"</p>
<p>Sherlock groaned, when John's voice sounded through the flat and rose him from his deep slumber. Great, one time he decided that it was acceptable to indulge his body's need for sleep and then John was the one to wake him. If Sherlock decided to stay up for 72 hours straight, the next time, it would certainly be his friend, who would take issues with it. John should make up his mind, if he wanted him to sleep or not.</p>
<p>"Sherlock!"</p>
<p>This time the call was accompanied by a knock on the door and Sherlock only hid his head under the covers. Maybe, if he pretended to still be asleep, then John would let him be, for another hour or so.</p>
<p>"There are clients in our living-room." Sherlock sat up abruptly at that. All thoughts of complaining to John, for waking him, forgotten, as he sprang to his feet. Waking him up for a potential interesting case was absolutely acceptable.</p>
<p>"Sherlock... Whew."</p>
<p>"Sorry, John," Sherlock griped his friend's shoulder to steady him, after they’d almost collided outside his bedroom. "You said the clients were in the living-room?" Sherlock didn't wait for a reply and only gave John's shoulder a light squeeze, before he swept past him.</p>
<p>"Sherlock, wait... you can't..." He didn’t pay John's incoherent stuttering any mind, instead he strode into the living-room and... stopped. He frowned. Blinked. And took another step into the room, before he stopped again. Something was... wrong. Sherlock furrowed his brow and stared at the two people, that were seated on the couch. Actually, they looked ordinary enough on their own. The man appeared to be in his early thirties, clad in a blue pinstripe suit with a matching tie and a brown coat. If it hadn't been for the white Converse shoes, that he was wearing, there wouldn't have been anything remarkable about his appearance at all. Although the man would probably protest against such a statement, seeing how much time he apparently spend on his hair, every day. Sherlock doubted that it looked as perfectly tousled on its own.</p>
<p>No, nothing remarkable about the man, at first glance, but that only made the woman, who was with him even more interesting. If only because they were here, together. Sherlock's eyes swept over the blonde woman. She was younger than her friend - or whatever he was to her - probably in her early twenties, if she wasn't even still a teenager. Sherlock only took a second to register her unremarkable wardrobe - jeans with a huge belt and a baby blue hoodie - and instead focused on her eyes. They looked like they had seen more than should be possible for someone so young. </p>
<p>Sherlock’s forehead creased and he glanced back at the man, who appeared to be watching him, in something akin to delight. He might have been wrong. This strange pair didn't fit together appearance wise, but their eyes held the same expression. Deep within them, mysteries and secrets appeared to be hidden and...</p>
<p>"Sherlock," John's exasperated voice snapped him out of his musings, "You can't just... My apologies." John's last words were directed at the pair on their couch and Sherlock frowned at that. He couldn't see why his friend needed to...</p>
<p>"No need, this jimjams are brilliant!" The man on the couch beamed at Sherlock and the young woman giggled quietly.</p>
<p>Sherlock glanced down at himself and shrugged, when he noticed that he was wearing his favourite blue pyjama. John should be thankful that it had been too cold last night for him to sleep in the nude, like he preferred. Not that Sherlock would have cared either way, but it would have probably given his friend a heart attack.</p>
<p>"Look at you!" Sherlock raised an eyebrow at the man, when he got up from the couch and beamed proudly at him. "All grown up now!"</p>
<p>Sherlock blinked in confusion, when the man took another step towards him. He was talking like Sherlock's great aunt Miriam, when she had told Sherlock what a<cite> fine, young man</cite> he had become. Only his great aunt was well into her eighties, while this man looked younger than Sherlock was himself. Admittedly, he could be older than him, but not by more than a few years. At least he didn't look...</p>
<p>"Doctor!" The exasperated call came from the young woman on the couch and Sherlock only noticed then, that the man looked like he was about to hug him.</p>
<p>"I just wanted to greet him," the man protested even as Sherlock ducked away.</p>
<p>"I know but you can't just hug people, who don't know you."</p>
<p>"But he knows me!"</p>
<p>Sherlock tuned out the bickering of the pair and made his way over to the window to push the curtain aside. It was as he had suspected. There, next to the entrance to the Tube station, stood a blue police box. Or rather, a blue police box had been <cite>parked</cite>, next to the entrance to the Tube station. Sherlock clenched the fabric of the curtain in his hand. Years, it had been years, two <cite>decades </cite>even, since he had last seen this police box.</p>
<p>Sherlock grinded his teeth and turned around to face the still smiling Doctor. He hadn't smiled this much all this years ago. In fact, he hadn't even had this face to smile with or this body, to hug unwilling humans with. No wonder that Sherlock hadn't figured out who he really was, until his friend - <cite>companion</cite>? - had called out his name.</p>
<p>"Sherlock?" John's worried voice sounded next to him, but Sherlock didn't reply, instead he glared at the Doctor. "Get out!"</p>
<p>Sherlock didn't wait for a reply, but he turned abruptly on his heels and fled back to his room. He slammed the door shut, but he didn’t bother with the lock, before he threw himself onto his bed and closed his eyes. Two decades and yet it felt like it had only happened yesterday.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <cite>"Doctor!" Sherlock ran across the backyard towards the blue police box, that had just appeared next to his Mummy's flower bed. He had stayed up hours past his bedtime to listen for the sound, that heralded the arriving of the TARDIS. Mycroft would probably be cross with him, if Sherlock fell asleep, during the day again, but Sherlock didn't care about that. He only cared about getting to spend time with the man, who had just closed the door of the TARDIS behind him.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Sherlock," the Doctor ruffled his hair in greeting and his lips twitched as if they wanted to smile, "How is my favourite, little ape?"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Sherlock pouted even as he took the Doctor's hand, to draw him in the direction of the open field behind their house. "I’m not an ape."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>A thoughtful look crossed the Doctor's face, as he allowed Sherlock to lead the way, until they were in the middle of the field. "Maybe not."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Sherlock frowned. He had the feeling that there was a hidden meaning, behind these words and the way, the Doctor looked at him, but he couldn't interpret it. The Doctor had always been a complete mystery to him, ever since the night, that he had stormed into Sherlock’s bedroom and announced, that he needed to take care of the monster, under his bed. Since there had actually been an alien creature living under his bed - which the Doctor had taken back to the TARDIS with him - Sherlock had revaluated his first impression of the Doctor and decided, that he wasn’t an escapee from a psychiatric ward. It had been that reasoning, that had led to Sherlock’s decision to follow the man, back to the blue police box. He had even almost managed to sneak inside, before the Doctor had caught him. The Doctor hadn’t been fast enough though, to prevent Sherlock from getting a glimpse of the interior of the TARDIS. </cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>It should’ve been impossible, but it had been bigger on the inside. Sherlock had been so sure of that, that he had bombarded the Doctor with a thousand questions, that night. Surprisingly, he had even got some answers. He had learned, that the Doctor was a Time Lord and that the blue police box was called a TARDIS. And that he could travel through space and time with it. </cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Sadly though the Doctor had refused to prove his last claim to him, by taking him back in time to meet his favourite pirate. Still, he had agreed to come visit Sherlock, every night to teach him about the universe. So far, he had kept his promise for the last year.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Tell me about the star constellations," Sherlock looked hopefully at the Doctor, after they had both sat down, in the field.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"I could teach you about the whole of time and space and you want to learn about the constellations in your tiny part of the universe." The Doctor shook his head in disbelief at Sherlock.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"We talked about quantum physics yesterday," Sherlock defended himself, "But I want to know about the stars here, too."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Cool blue eyes looked curiously at him. "Why?"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Because I like them," Sherlock simply replied and wondered why this earned him a real, if small smile from the Doctor. "You know I might consider taking you on a trip, in the TARDIS, when you are older."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Sherlock nodded enthusiastically and then pointed at one of the star constellations, in the sky. He listened attentively, to what the Doctor taught him about the stars in this solar system and swore that he would see them himself, one day. The Doctor had promised to take him into space, after all.</cite>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sherlock snorted and wiped angrily at a single tear, that had dared to escape down his cheek. This had been the last time that he had seen the Doctor, until now. He had waited patiently, every night, for him, for a year. In the end though, Sherlock had admitted to himself that the Doctor wouldn't come back and that he had simply left, like everyone else who claimed to be his friend. Sherlock had deleted his knowledge of the solar system, on the day, that he had come to that conclusion. And now, the Doctor was back and Sherlock didn't know what to do. Thousand questions were swirling through his mind, which he wanted to ask the Doctor. For example, how it was possible, that he had changed so completely, since the last time, that Sherlock had seen him. At the same time though, he wanted the Doctor gone from his life.</p>
<p>"Sherlock?" John's voice came through the closed door. "This man, the <cite>Doctor</cite>, wants to talk to you."</p>
<p>Sherlock sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "You can come in... both of you."<br/>
The door opened and first the Doctor and then John entered his room. Sherlock noted, that the beaming smile had finally vanished from the Doctor's face and it had been replaced with a more complicated expression. One Sherlock couldn't figure out for the life of him.</p>
<p>"Did he tell you who he is?" Sherlock looked at John who raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean the part about travelling through time and space and having met you when you were a child, but while he still had a different body?" Judging from John's tone of voice, he highly doubted the validity of such a story. If John wasn’t so used to strange happenings – thanks to Sherlock – then he would’ve certainly called the police, by now. </p>
<p>"It's all true," Sherlock confirmed, but John still looked doubtful.</p>
<p>"I saw what you did with the eyeballs," the Doctor announced suddenly and stalled any further attempts, Sherlock might have otherwise made, to convince John of the validity, of the Doctor’s story. "Brilliant idea to let them soak in Earl Grey. Brings out the best in them, although I would suggest adding a splash of lemon..."</p>
<p>"Eyeballs in the tea?!" Sherlock groaned when John glared furiously at him. "It's for an experiment."</p>
<p>"You can't just experiment with tea, Sherlock!"</p>
<p>"Aw, so British." Sherlock didn't know if he should laugh or scream, when the Doctor looked admiringly at John, while his friend was staring at them both, in utter disbelief. And here Sherlock had thought, that Moriarty made his life complicated - and interesting - whenever he committed a crime in London.</p>
<p>"That's it!" The Doctor nodded seriously in John's direction, as if he had just had an amazing idea, "You can have some tea with Rose. She is from London, too, though from five years, in your past, but I’m sure you’ll still get along, splendidly."</p>
<p>John blinked slowly at the smiling Doctor and then glanced at Sherlock, who jerked his head forward in a nod. The Doctor was obviously hell-bent on talking with him and Sherlock would rather get it over with.</p>
<p>"Fine. Call if you need anything."</p>
<p>"Yes John," Sherlock promised and only rolled his eyes slightly. He was well aware that his friend was hesitant to leave him alone, in his bedroom, with someone he perceived as a madman and he was thankful that John trusted Sherlock enough to leave them alone, nonetheless. He waited until John had closed the door behind him and his steps sounded down the corridor - probably going to prepare that tea for Rose and himself - before he focused his full attention on the Doctor. He was still angry at the man, who had betrayed him, all these years ago, but there was also a tiny spark of hope, mixed in with the anger and disappointment. Hope, that the Doctor would make everything alright again.</p>
<p>"I’ve questions," Sherlock started, when the Doctor sat down, at the foot of the bed and faced him with a serious expression. "And hopefully, I’ve the answers, that you’re looking for."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>OOO</p>
<p> </p>
<p>John threw one last glance at the closed door of Sherlock's bedroom, before he made his way into the kitchen. Every instinct in him rebelled against leaving his friend alone with this strange man. The <cite>Doctor</cite>, he called himself, as if that wasn't a title, but a normal name. Then again the... Doctor hadn't said that he was normal, quite the opposite in fact. John shook his head, when he recalled what the Doctor had told him, after Sherlock had stormed away to his room. Aliens and space ships, time travel and Time Lords and... it was unbelievable and yet John was standing in their kitchen and about to make tea, instead of calling the police. What did that say about him?</p>
<p>"You don't believe us."</p>
<p>Thankfully, John had lived long enough with Sherlock, by now, that he was used to having someone sneak up on him, otherwise he would have scalded himself, in surprise, when he added the hot water from the kettle to two mugs. He glanced over his shoulder to see Rose leaning against the doorframe, of the kitchen. If she hadn't been travelling with the Doctor, John would have thought her a normal young woman. Attractive, down to earth and obviously rather stubborn, judging from the look in her eyes. She was travelling with the Doctor, though and John wasn't sure what he was supposed to make of that.</p>
<p>"It's not something you hear every day," John replied before adding a splash of milk to his tea. "How do you take it?"</p>
<p>"One sugar and a dash of milk," Rose stepped forward to accept the prepared mug from him, "You haven't alerted the police or that brother of Sherlock's, though." There was a knowing glint in her eyes, as she glanced at John, over the rim of her mug.</p>
<p>"Let's sit down in the living-room. I can't guarantee you that there isn't some deadly bacteria growing, in one of the Petri dishes." It was true, although John admitted freely to himself that he was stalling for time, until he would be forced to have this conversation with Rose. Preferably he would have made up his mind one way or another, by the time, they got to talk. Still, the fact, that he was sitting opposite this supposed time traveller, while sipping tea, was already telling in itself. John would still like some time, to wrap his head around everything, that had just been dumped into his lap.</p>
<p>"So," John started and then stopped as he considered how best to initiate this conversation. He decided to start simple. "How long have you been travelling with the Doctor then?"</p>
<p>It was an easy enough question to answer, but it gave Rose pause, for a moment, as she worried her lower lip between her teeth, before taking a sip of her tea. "About a year." She shrugged. "Hard to tell when you are a few thousand years in the future, one day and sharing a carriage with Queen Victoria the next one. I could ask the TARDIS."</p>
<p>John opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again when he realised that he couldn't come up with anything to say, to such a statement. Instead, he quietly sipped his tea but then huffed out a laugh in amusement.</p>
<p>"What?" Rose frowned at him and John shook his head, while he chuckled quietly. "Here I thought that nothing could top breaking into a high security military base to investigate a rabbit but..."</p>
<p>"A rabbit?" Rose's tone sounded disbelieving, as she stared at John with wide eyes.</p>
<p>"To be fair, the rabbit was glowing in the dark." Somehow John managed to keep a straight face, for all of five seconds, before his lips twitched upwards, at the memory and then he was laughing. Rose soon joined into his laughter and when they finally got their breath back, they were openly grinning at each other.</p>
<p>"And I thought the Doctor was crazy for landing during the London Blitz. Well," Rose pushed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and a faraway look crossed her eyes, "That was his last regeneration but this one," She nodded in the direction of Sherlock's bedroom, "Isn't much better."</p>
<p>John didn't miss the fondness in Rose's voice or how her eyes grew impossible soft, whenever she spoke of the Doctor. He didn't need to be good at deductions, like Sherlock to understand that there was more than friendship between these two. John pushed away the envy that this thought brought and instead smiled conspiratorially at Rose. "Looks like we are both destined to run after our respective madman and keep them from getting killed."</p>
<p>A complicated look passed over Rose's face and John recalled that regeneration had something to do with dying or cheating death - he hadn't really followed the babbled explanation of the Doctor - and he regretted his choice of words. Before he could apologize though, Rose was smiling at him again and she nodded in the direction of the bedroom. "You seem to have been successful so far."</p>
<p>"Yes," John shrugged, "He doesn't make it easy though, when he meets up with criminal masterminds, at an empty swimming pool, at midnight."</p>
<p>"He has a flair for the dramatic, hasn't he?"</p>
<p>John huffed good naturally. "You don't even know the half of it. On our first evening together he knowingly climbed into a taxi with a serial killer."</p>
<p>"And I thought getting attacked by mannequins was a great way to get to know each other." John frowned slightly at the statement. He could remember reading about mannequins, that had gone crazy in London, some years ago but he had been in Afghanistan, at the time. Therefore, he hadn't paid much attention to such unimportant appearing news. It had been exhausting enough to stay alive, in a warzone, without worrying about plastic, that had gone crazy.</p>
<p>"So you have been together since that evening with the serial killer?" John opened his mouth to reply, but then furrowed his brow, when he considered the way the question had been asked. "We moved in together that day if that's what you mean."</p>
<p>"No, that's not what I meant." Rose rolled her eyes at him, as if he was particularly daft. "When did you become a couple?"</p>
<p>"We didn't... we aren't..." John shook his head to clear his mind and finally managed to get out a complete sentence. "I am not gay and Sherlock and I aren't a couple. Why does everyone always assume that we are?"</p>
<p>The last part was spoken more to himself than to Rose who only looked at him curiously. "Are you sure?"</p>
<p>Anger rose inside John, at being questioned like this and a snappish reply was on the tip of his tongue, before he took a second to look at Rose. Really look at her. She didn't appear to be trying to rile him up or make him uncomfortable. Her eyes were absolutely guileless, and only held a huge amount of curiosity and John felt himself relax, again. "Sherlock isn't interested in romantic relationships," John admitted and forced himself to hold her gaze, even as he felt heat rise in his cheeks. He knew what his words implied. So far, he had only ever admitted to himself that he was interested in Sherlock, as more than a friend, but somehow it felt right to tell Rose. John wasn't exactly sure why, though. Maybe, it had got something to do with that time travelling business or that she simply appeared trustworthy. Whatever it was, his secret was out in the open and John held his breath, as he waited for Rose's reaction.</p>
<p>"Did he say that?" Rose's warm eyes were full of sympathy, as she looked at him and John took a second to wonder what kind of relationship she had with the Doctor. Maybe they were both doomed to run after mad geniuses, that would never return their affections.</p>
<p>"As a matter of fact he did." John gave a pained chuckle. "He told me that he was married to his work and not interested in relationships, the very first evening, we were out together." No need to tell her just how badly John had stumbled over his own words, when he had tried to gauge, if Sherlock was interested. The memory already made him cringe, whenever he recalled it, without someone else knowing about it.</p>
<p>"That was the evening with the serial killer, yes?" Rose sucked her lower lip into her mouth, as if to keep herself from saying anything else.</p>
<p>"Yes." John frowned slightly. "We were on a stake-out and..."</p>
<p>"Wait a second!" Rose held up her hand to interrupt him, a look of disbelief on her face. "You hit on him on your first evening together, while you were working on a case?!"</p>
<p>"Yes," John replied slowly, unsure where this was going.</p>
<p>"You didn't ask him again at a later date?"</p>
<p>"No, of course not." John scrunched up his nose at the mere idea of getting rejected by Sherlock, again. One time had been painful enough for his ego, thank you very much.</p>
<p>"Men!" Rose exclaimed and then leaned forward in her armchair, with such a fierce expression on her face, that John was hard pressed not to lean back.  "You didn't consider that he might not want to hook up with a potential flatmate, on the first day? Or that he was busy focusing on the case? God," Rose ran a hand through her hair, "You men are really daft!"</p>
<p>"Hey!"</p>
<p>Rose shrugged unapologetically. "It's true. It would be like me to expect the Doctor to kiss me during a Dalek attack."</p>
<p>John didn't have the first clue what a <cite>Dalek </cite>was supposed to be, therefore he focused on the obvious part of Rose's statement. "So the Doctor usually kisses you?"</p>
<p>Rose's eyes flickered down, to glance at her shoes, in an obvious attempt to avoid his gaze. "'Course not. He is the Doctor and I am just a human shop girl. Besides," Rose added with more vehemence, "He is much older than I am."</p>
<p>John freely admitted, that he wasn't up to Sherlock's deduction standards – not by far - but even he noticed, that there was more to Rose's words than was obvious at first. "How many years older are we talking?"</p>
<p>Rose chuckled humourlessly. "Try a few centuries."</p>
<p>John opened his mouth and then closed it again. A few centuries that was...</p>
<p>"So you feel like he is too old for you?" John could completely understand the sentiment, although from how Rose had looked at the Doctor, before Sherlock had arrived, he would have bet, that her feelings for him were so deep, that an age gape - even a gigantic one - didn't matter to her. </p>
<p>Rose's tongue darted out to lick her lips, while she appeared to debate whether or not to reply honestly. Apparently, John had earned her trust somehow, since she whispered quietly: "I will die before him." Rose twirled a strand of hair around her finger and stared off into the distance, while John was left pondering what to say. He was relatively sure, that he understood, where she was coming from, but that didn't make the situation any less complicated. Especially seeing, that he had only met Rose and the Doctor, today. Besides, he had never been any good at giving advice on relationships. Still, John felt like he needed to say something. "My aunt and uncle were exactly the same age," he started and then hurried on before he could think better of it. "They were sure, that they would grow old together, but my aunt died at the age of 42. They only had twenty years together, when they thought they could have sixty or so."</p>
<p>Rose was staring at him, like he had grown a second head and John fidgeted with the mug in his hands, before he set it down on the table.  "I just mean, there is no guarantee for anything in life."</p>
<p>"It's pretty damn much guaranteed that I will die before the Doctor," Rose muttered, "I can't do that to him."</p>
<p>"My uncle never regretted the years he spent with me aunt. In fact, these years are some of his most precious memories."</p>
<p>"So," Rose frowned sceptically at him, "You say it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?"</p>
<p>John cringed at the cheesy calendar motto, but nodded nonetheless. "Fond memories are better than years or centuries of regret."</p>
<p>Rose's teeth worried her lower lip again and John was hard pressed to tell her, to stop less she injured herself. Instead, he sat completely still, while she appeared to struggle with herself, until a determined expression entered her eyes. "Fine, I will give it a shot if you do as well."</p>
<p>John opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut again, when he noticed the fiery expression in Rose's eyes. God, she would even get Moriarty to bow to her wishes, if she looked at him like this. "Alright."</p>
<p>Rose's lips twitched upwards and she offered her hand, to him, across the table. "Deal?"</p>
<p>"Deal," John shook her hand, "But you will make me a cup of tea, if Sherlock rejects me again."</p>
<p>Warm eyes looked gently at him, when Rose gave his hand a squeeze. "He won't."</p>
<p>John wished he could be as confident as Rose was. Instead of voicing his concerns though, he nodded towards their now empty mugs. "Another cuppa while we wait?"</p>
<p>"Yes, please." John smiled and collected their mugs, to prepare more of the heaven sent beverage. He limited himself to only glancing four times, in the direction of Sherlock's bedroom, while he waited for the water to boil. He wondered what Sherlock and the Doctor were talking about, right now. Though, he was relatively certain, that they weren’t exchanging relationship advices.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Questions and Answers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The second chapter of this story, with a little more interaction between Sherlock and the Doctor. The next and final chapter will be up, next Friday. Enjoy. :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>Questions and Answers</h3>
<p>"Fascinating." The Doctor beamed at Sherlock, who wore a look of pure awe on his face. He could certainly see why his last regeneration had decided to take this boy under his wing. Sherlock was absolutely brilliant. And not only for 21th century standards, on Earth. No, the Doctor was positive that Sherlock could even give some of the more advanced species a run for their money. He was curious and smart and only needed the barest minimum of information to come to the right conclusion. The Doctor couldn't remember the last time, when someone had grasped the theory of regenerations so well. Most people only wanted the most crucial information about the process, because they were focusing so much on the obvious changes to his appearance, to question <cite>how</cite> it worked. But Sherlock was different and he had almost got it right. Almost. Close enough for the Doctor to assure him, that he had understood the theory of it. Otherwise, they would probably spend the next few days, holed up in this room, while Sherlock tried to wrap his head around everything.<br/>Not that the Doctor minded, but he was rather sure, that Rose would be cross with him and Sherlock's friend didn't look like he would appreciate unannounced house guests, either.</p>
<p>"So," the Doctor turned away from the poster of the periodic table, which still had a lot of elements missing or falsely categorized and focused back on Sherlock, who was still sitting on the bed, "Any other questions?" They had got sidetracked talking about regenerations, so the Doctor was certain, that there was more, that Sherlock wanted to know. Somehow, he managed to surprise the Doctor though. "Not questions, but a deduction."</p>
<p>"Oh brilliant!" The Doctor clapped his hands together, in excitement. He had read about the methods of Sherlock Holmes and he was rather thrilled to be on the receiving end of his famous deductions. </p>
<p>"You visited me every day for a year - or maybe it was less or more time for you - but then you met Rose and you weren't interested in me anymore." Harsh lines formed around Sherlock's mouth and his lips turned downwards, but he continued, before the Doctor could interrupt him. "You travelled with her and then your last body was killed and you regenerated. At some point afterwards, you decided to check up on me for fun. How did I do?"</p>
<p>"Brilliant!" The Doctor grinned down at Sherlock for a second, before his expression grew thoughtful. "I mean," he pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair, "You got almost everything wrong but," the Doctor hurried on to reassure Sherlock, when he saw how his face fell, "That's not your fault. Time travel is confusing, at the best of times. If the TARDIS wasn't so clever, I would have certainly ended up killing one of my former regenerations at some point. You must know..."</p>
<p>"What really happened then?" Sherlock's challenging question interrupted the Doctor's little speech.</p>
<p>"Well," the Doctor tousled his hair again, "For starters, you were right about it not being a year for me - my last regeneration - when I visited your younger self. Actually, it were only a few days, for me, but I didn't stop coming because I met Rose. In fact it was the other way around."</p>
<p>When Sherlock only raised an inquiring eyebrow at that, the Doctor sighed quietly and rubbed his neck. God, but this was embarrassing. If it weren't for his advanced physiology, he would certainly be blushing furiously, by now. In fact, if he weren't so brilliant at controlling his own body's reactions, he wouldn't even be here now. No, he would have probably regenerated out of pure embarrassment, that one time, when he had walked into Rose in the bathroom. He couldn't recall anymore, why he had even ventured there, only that he had almost given away the true depth of his affections for her. And even with his advanced physiology, he had had a hard time - truly hard - to get himself back under control. Therefore it stood to reason that...</p>
<p>"Doctor!" The, in equal parts amused and exasperated, voice of Sherlock drew him back to present.</p>
<p>"Right," the Doctor nodded and held up his finger. "Right... where was I?"</p>
<p>"Rose wasn't the reason, you stopped coming to see me," Sherlock reminded him.</p>
<p>"Yes, right that." The Doctor ran both his hands through his hair and ruined all the effort, that had gone into styling it, this morning. "I met Rose and we naturally saved the day and then I offered her to travel with me and she... refused." The Doctor pressed his lips together, into a thin line, at the memory. His last regeneration had been really offended at the rejection, when he had finally decided to take a companion with him, again. And he had also found it embarrassing, that he had got rejected by a human teenager. The Doctor pushed the old feelings away and focused on getting the story over with. "I went away in the TARDIS and I got a signal about the alien, under your bed. You know the next part of the story."</p>
<p>Sherlock nodded slowly, although a deep frown had appeared on his face. "But you’re travelling with Rose, now."</p>
<p>"Yes, the perks of having a time machine." The Doctor's lips turned upwards, into a fond smile, as he thought of his beloved ship, "I came back to her and asked her again. By that point, a few weeks had passed for me, but only a few seconds for her. I told her, that the TARDIS travels in time, too and she came with me." The Doctor grinned proudly, when he revealed his genius move to Sherlock. It had certainly been one of his more brilliant moments.</p>
<p>"Okay," Sherlock started slowly, "Then you travelled together, got yourself killed, regenerated and then..." Sherlock shook his head, as if he had just hit an invisible wall in his logic. "You could still have come to me, when I was still a child. You have a time machine, as you like to remind me." </p>
<p>The Doctor barely kept from flinching, at the bitterness in Sherlock's voice. God, he had really screwed up this time, hadn't he?! But there was still the possibility of making it right. He only had to admit that: "I jumped twenty years too far into your future, when I tried to meet up with your younger self."</p>
<p>Sherlock only looked at him in disbelief and the Doctor sighed, because he was forced to elaborate on his slight miscalculation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <cite>"So, we are here?"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Yep," the Doctor grinned brightly at Rose and opened the door of the TARDIS to step outside. The surrounding area was just as green and filled with nature as he recalled it. Some of the trees looked a little different from how he recalled them, but that might just be him getting old. After all, it had almost been two years for him, since he had last seen Sherlock. Oh, how he was already looking forward to seeing this little, brilliant boy, again. The way his eyes lit up, whenever the Doctor told him of his adventures, was simply inspiring. </cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Do you think he will mind, that I look differently now?" The Doctor smoothed down the front of his suit jacket, as he spoke back over his shoulder, to Rose who was still in the TARDIS. She had - after finding out about Sherlock - assured him that the little boy would easily accept him, as he was now. Children, from her experience, didn't have as much difficulties, to accept such changes as adults had.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>The Doctor had wondered, at the time, if that was her way of telling him, that she still hadn't come to terms with his newest regeneration. By now though, he was certain that that hadn't been Rose's intention, at all. At least, she hadn't shown any indication that she liked him any less. In fact, it felt like they had become even closer, since he had regenerated into this body. No wonder really, seeing how nice-looking this body was. Especially the hair, the Doctor mused to himself, as he ran a hand through it. He really liked his hair. Maybe Rose would also like to...</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Doctor!"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Now, come on." The Doctor gestured for Rose to follow him, when she finally stepped out of the TARDIS, "No time to lose, a little boy is waiting for us. Well, he is waiting for me since he is not expecting you, but..."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Doctor!" Rose grabbed his arm to halt him, in his progress towards the house. "It's 2011. There is no little boy, living in this house, anymore."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"No, that's not..." The Doctor slowly turned on the spot and took in the way the trees appeared bigger than in his memories. And the house also looked aged. The tiles on the roof had partially lost their colour and the formerly white walls had a greyish tinge to them. But the most obvious sign, that a lot of time had passed, was the old couple, that left the house and made their way to a waiting car. Sherlock's parents hadn't been this old, the last time, that he had been here.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"It's fine though, isn't it?" Rose's warm hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts and he turned around to meet her warm eyes. "Neither one of us has interacted with anyone, in this time, yet. So we can just go twenty years back, in time and still meet Sherlock."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Yes, we could do that, but first..." The Doctor hurried back inside the TARDIS, without finishing his sentence, which earned him an annoyed sigh from Rose. Still, he didn't have to look up, to know, that she had followed him inside, when she stepped up beside him, while he pushed worked on the console.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"What are you doing?"</cite>
</p>
<p><cite>"Connecting the TARDIS to this year's version of the internet and... Aha!" The name</cite> Sherlock Holmes<cite> appeared on the screen.</cite></p>
<p>
  <cite>"Consulting Detective," Rose read aloud, "What's that?"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Oh, it's brilliant! He invented his own profession. I always knew... but this means," the Doctor sighed quietly, "We can't go back to meet his younger self."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Why not?"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Well, theoretically we could," the Doctor messed up his carefully styled hair by running his fingers through it, "But there is no way of telling, if he will become a consulting detective if we alter his timeline."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Rose threw him a sceptic look. "I doubt, that one more meeting with you would change that."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Oh, but it could." The Doctor shook his head. "No, I won't risk it. He has done so many brilliant things. And he even got himself a boyfriend," the Doctor pointed at a picture of Sherlock and a John Watson, "I can't risk, that he loses all that but," he beamed at Rose, "We can still pay him a visit now." Rose still didn't look convinced, but she finally gave her consent with a nod. "Off to meet the only consulting detective, in the world and his companion," the Doctor announced, before pushing the lever on the console down and taking them to Baker Street, in the same year.</cite>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"And here I am," the Doctor finished his tale and gestured to himself with a huge grin. Sherlock though, only stared at him, in obvious disbelief and not even the Doctor could guess on what was going through his mind, until he spoke. "John’s not my boyfriend."</p>
<p>The Doctor furrowed his brow. Humans always managed to surprise him. Of all the things, that Sherlock could have focused on, it was this tiny detail, he had picked out. Still, if it was important to Sherlock, the Doctor could certainly work with it. "Strange, I thought... and Rose, too. And let me tell you, that she is brilliant, when it comes to such things."</p>
<p>"What things?"</p>
<p>"You know," the Doctor gestured with his hands, "Human relationships. Matters of the heart, that kind of stuff."</p>
<p>"Looks like your girlfriend was wrong then."</p>
<p>"Obviously she... Wait! What?" The Doctor stared at Sherlock, in absolute shock. "She’s not my girlfriend." Not that the Doctor hadn't entertained the thought, from time to time - or every day, really - but it simply wasn't an option.</p>
<p>"Why not?" If Sherlock hadn't appeared honestly puzzled, the Doctor would have ignored the inquiry, but as it was he somehow felt compelled to answer. "Because she deserves better than me."</p>
<p>"Like what?"</p>
<p>The Doctor sighed. That was the drawback of meeting someone years later, when they had only known you during their childhood days. Sherlock didn't know about everything, that the Doctor had done, in his time. Sherlock didn't have the first clue what kind of a man he was and the Doctor was too selfish to tell him. "A family of her own and..."</p>
<p>"A house with a white fence, a dog and a dull job," Sherlock finished with a raised eyebrow and then shrugged. "I doubt she would be travelling with you, if that was what she wanted, but I have always been told, that I am no good at human emotions, so I might be wrong."</p>
<p>"At least that would explain, why John isn't your boyfriend," the Doctor shot back with more heat than intended. "He is totally gone on you," he added softly.</p>
<p>Sherlock only shook his head in reply, even as a pensive expression entered his eyes and the Doctor took the moment of silence to ponder Sherlock's words. He might be right, in regards to Rose. She had even told him that, she wanted to travel with him forever. Still, that left the question, whether he deserved to be with someone as warm and brilliant as her. The Doctor rather doubted his worthiness, in this regard. He certainly wouldn't initiate anything between them, but if Rose made the first move, that would change things. He doubted it though and that left them, exactly where they had started: a Time Lord and his human companion, travelling through time and space and saving the universe.</p>
<p>"You think what I do is good?" It took the Doctor a second, to follow the abrupt change in conversation, but he managed a nod.  "Of course, it is great. Absolutely brilliant!"</p>
<p>Instead of returning the Doctor's smile, Sherlock's face fell and he stared down at his hands, in his lap. "If I had only been average, you would have come back, to my younger self."</p>
<p>The Doctor opened and closed his mouth, while he searched for the right words. Not finding them, he crouched down in front of Sherlock and peered up at his downcast eyes. "I am sorry. I am so sorry." The Doctor squeezed Sherlock's upper arm in apology. "I didn't want to change, what you have now."</p>
<p>They sat in silence, for what would have felt like hours, if the Doctor hadn't known, that it were only thirty seconds, until Sherlock let out a deep exhale and nodded once. "Alright, I can live with that."</p>
<p>"Great," the Doctor jumped to his feet and held out his hand, for Sherlock to take, "Then let's take you on that trip, I promised you. I wouldn't recommend visiting pirates - they are a bit mistrustful of strangers - but a trip to the stars is easy enough. Any particular view, you would like to see?"</p>
<p>The small smile, that had started to form on Sherlock's lips fell away, again and the Doctor frowned in confusion, when Sherlock ducked his head as if in shame. Did he say something wrong?</p>
<p>"I deleted the solar system."</p>
<p>"Excuse me?" The Doctor doubted, that he had heard that right. Certainly. if the solar system - or <cite>any</cite> solar system - had been deleted, then he would have noticed. </p>
<p>"When it became obvious, that you wouldn't come back," Sherlock gestured weakly in his direction, "I deleted all the knowledge of the solar system, from my mind. So I don't know what's out there to see. I just learned, again, that the earth goes around the sun."</p>
<p>"Right," the Doctor murmured slowly and pushed the guilt, upon hearing this confession away, to deal with it, later. For now, he had more important business to tend to. "You can't delete information from your mind."</p>
<p>"I can and I’ve done it." Sherlock crossed his arms, in front of his chest and the Doctor was hard pressed not to laugh out loud. God, but Sherlock looked every bit the little boy, he had first met, like this. "You might have pushed them so far down in your mind, that you can't access the information anymore - which admittedly is already impressive- but you can't delete them. You aren't a machine. You’re human."</p>
<p>For a second, Sherlock looked like, he was going to argue the point further, but in the end, he only huffed in annoyance. "Fine, then I might have put them in a sealed box, in the best hidden room, in my Mind Palace and thrown the key away, but that still doesn't change the fact, that I can't remember anything about the solar system."</p>
<p>"Actually," the Doctor started before he could think better of it, "You can access them."</p>
<p>"How?" The Doctor pursed his lips, at the question. Not because he couldn't answer it, but more though, because he wasn't entirely convinced, that what he was about to suggest, was a good idea. Well, it couldn't be worse than when he had thought, that exploring a swamp planet, would be fun. He had needed to bin a pair of his favourite sneakers, afterwards. "I’m a telepath. I could help you, find the information, in your mind."</p>
<p>Sherlock looked sceptically at that. "You would rummage through my mind, until..."</p>
<p>"No, of course not!" The Doctor scrunched up his nose, in disgust. "Nothing so <cite>barbaric</cite>. You would’ve to think of the solar system and I’d nudge your mind in the right direction. Every information leaves some kind of trace. You probably can't find it anymore, but it shouldn't be any hardship, for me."</p>
<p>"You wouldn't change anything, right?" A hint of fear appeared, in Sherlock's eyes. "No rearranging the shelves or throwing books into the fireplace?"</p>
<p>"I am not sure, what you mean by that," the Doctor certainly hadn't come across these terms, before, "But I promise you, that I will only help you access the information you want, nothing else."</p>
<p>Sherlock pressed his lips together and for a second, the Doctor believed, that he would reject the idea. After all, who was mad enough, to let a crazy alien into his mind?!</p>
<p>"Fine. What do I have to do?" The Doctor blinked, but caught himself, just in time, before he could question Sherlock's decision and crunched down in front of him, once more.</p>
<p>"Just think of your wish, to find the information. I will place my hands on your temples and then you will feel a slight nudge, in your mind. It shouldn't take longer than a few seconds."</p>
<p>"Okay," Sherlock closed his eyes, when the Doctor placed his hands on his temples, "Go on."</p>
<p>It was remarkable easy to slip into Sherlock's mind, although the Doctor almost forgot, why he was allowed inside, when he realized how it was organized. <cite>Mind Palace</cite>, Sherlock had called it and he hadn't exaggerated. Long corridors, high windows and countless rooms harboured every bit of information and every experience, Sherlock had ever made. The Doctor had never seen a mind like this. It was bloody brilliant!</p>
<p>He still forced himself to focus only on the trace, that led to the information, that Sherlock had locked away, so many years ago, without peeking at anything else. A few seconds later, a safe in the cellar, had been opened and the Doctor withdrew from Sherlock's mind. He sat back down on his heels and watched quietly, when Sherlock's eyes widened in amazement, as so many information filtered back, into the part of his mind, that he could access. A couple of minutes passed, before Sherlock blinked a few times and then grinned at the Doctor. "I want to see a supernova.”</p>
<p>"Nothing easier than that," the Doctor jumped to his feet. "I know just the place, but first I need to... Yes, that should work." He nodded to himself and then gestured towards Sherlock. "Go, get dressed, I will be back, in no time."</p>
<p>The Doctor didn't give Sherlock time to protest, as he swept out of the room and evaded the surprised questions of Rose and John and hurried towards the TARDIS. He would make sure, that Sherlock would never forget this trip.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Trip to the Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had lots of fun, playing with these characters and I hope you enjoyed it, too. :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>A Trip to the Stars</h3>
<p>"Wow, it's so much bigger on the inside."</p>
<p>Rose bit down on the inside of her cheek, to keep herself from chuckling, even as her lips twitched, in amusement. Every time - no matter who it was - they couldn't get over the fact, that the TARDIS wasn't a simple police box. Admittedly, she hadn't been any different, when she had started her journey with the Doctor, but that felt like it had been ages ago. Now, she didn't even bat an eyelid anymore, when the TARDIS decided to rearrange the corridors, again, until she had direct access to the swimming pool, from her room.</p>
<p>"Don't be stupid, John." Rose raised an eyebrow at Sherlock, who was huffing at his friend and closing the door to the TARDIS behind them. "Of course, it's bigger on the inside. It's a different dimension."</p>
<p>Rose hid her grin behind her hand, as she took in the way, Sherlock was scoffing at John, while trying not to let his jaw drop, at the same time, in pure amazement, after he had entered the TARDIS, for the first time in his life.</p>
<p>"Don't let him fool you," the Doctor winked at John, as he took his place at the console, "He sneaked a peek inside the TARDIS as a child, before I could stop him. He was taken just as much by surprise as you were, just now."</p>
<p>Sherlock huffed out a breath at that and Rose grinned, when John nudged his shoulder and whispered something to him. God, she really hoped that these two would sort themselves out. Rose had rarely seen two people, that were more perfect together. Sherlock might be damn rude, but he was also a fucking madman - from what Rose had heard of their adventures - who needed John to keep him out of trouble - or face the trouble, by his side. Absolutely perfect. Rose ignored the part of her mind, that insisted, that there existed an awful lot of parallels between the relationship of these two and her own relationship with the Doctor. Even if there were parallels, it was still impossible to compare these two situations. After all, John and Sherlock were both humans, while the Doctor was over 900 years old and an alien.</p>
<p>
  <cite>"As if that's what's stopping you."</cite>
</p>
<p>Rose rolled her eyes at that and crossed her arms in front of her chest, when she felt a searching gaze on her. Slowly, she turned around to face the Doctor, who was frowning at her, even while he was entering coordinates into the console. "Everything alright?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, fine." Rose smiled and found herself relieved, when it felt real on her lips. She really didn't want to explain to the Doctor, why she was more pensive than usual. "So, where are we off to?" Rose stepped up next to the Doctor, to peer over his shoulder at the coordinates he had given the TARDIS. She couldn't make any sense of them, but she had learned enough, from her time travelling with the Doctor, to recognize, that he had taken the TARDIS to the same place, only a short while, ago. Since she highly doubted, that they were going back to the era of Queen Victoria, after they had been exiled from Britain, Rose assumed, that it had something to do with his mad dash to the TARDIS, five minutes ago. At least, it had been five minutes for her and everyone else, at Baker Street, but who knew how long it had been for him. Theoretically it could have been years, although she somehow doubted, that more than a few hours had passed, since he had gone for a solo trip, without letting her into his plans, first.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <cite>"So we had to dress as ninjas and..." Hurried steps, in the corridor, interrupted John's interesting tale and both, he and Rose, looked up, when the Doctor burst into the room.<br/>"I see you had tea, lovely." The Doctor grabbed Rose's mug took a long swig and grimaced - probably too little sugar - before giving both of them a wide grin. "Be back in five minutes. Get ready."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"What for?" John asked, even as he got up from his armchair. From what he had told Rose, he was used to these kind of situations, from Sherlock.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Can't say or it would spoil the surprise," the Doctor called, as he raced towards the staircase.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Doctor!" Rose jumped up from her armchair in alarm, but only managed to stumble her way through the mess in the living-room, to hear the front door fall close.  "Oh no, he wouldn't," Rose muttered darkly to herself and ignored John's questioning look and marched over to the window. She was just in time to see the TARDIS dematerialise. "Blimey!"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"What is it?"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"He has run off without me, again." Rose’s shoulders sagged and she turned away from the window to meet John's sympathetic gaze. "Yes, they tend to do that and then they complain, when we aren't fast enough, in getting them out of trouble again."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Rose's lips twitched upwards into a grin, when John winked at her. God, but it felt good to talk with someone, who understood her trouble of running after a mad genius, who was too curious, for his own good. Not that she didn't get them into trouble just as often, but that was beside the point, right now.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"So when do you think he will be back?"</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Rose shrugged. "Maybe in ten seconds or in five minutes. Could also be a couple of hours or a few days. He isn't the best driver." She didn't mention, that it could theoretically also take him a year or longer, to appear again, even if only a few hours had passed for him. Sometimes, she really wished, that there was some place, where he could take driving lessons. Maybe, there had been such a thing as a TARDIS driving school for Time Lords. If so, then Rose was sure, that he had simply skipped the lessons. There was no other explanation for his abysmal driving skills. Not that she didn't enjoy the rocking journey in the TARDIS or how it gave her the chance to hold onto the Doctor, from time to time, but it would really be a great relief, if she could trust him to get the year right.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"You can stay here, of course, if he takes longer than expected," John reassured her and Rose was just about to reply, when the squeaky sound of the TARDIS landing, echoed through the street. "Thanks but it won't be necessary."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>John glanced outside over her shoulder and grinned. "I better get ready for whatever he has planned, then. I just hope he isn't in too much of a hurry to leave."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Do you need that long to get ready?" Rose raised an eyebrow at John. He didn't seem the type to take hours, in the bathroom - not like another someone - and he was already dressed for the day.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Nope, but Sherlock was still in his pyjamas and he will be, at least, another half an hour, until his curls sit just right."</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>Rose couldn't help, but snorted at that. The longer she stayed here, the more things she found, that Sherlock and the Doctor had in common. She only wondered, if she would spot more similarities, before they left. Her unspoken question was answered, when Sherlock entered the living-room - only twenty-two minutes after the Doctor had come back - and Rose had to keep herself from laughing out loud. Of course, he would wear a suit and a long coat. She winked at John, who appeared to get, what she was so amused about and grinned back while two pair of confused eyes narrowed at them.</cite>
</p>
<p>
  <cite>"Ready then?" Rose interrupted, before any one of the assembled geniuses, could ask any questions and led the way out of the flat, knowing full well, that the three men would follow behind her.</cite>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Two hours," the Doctor answered Rose's unspoken question and then spoke up to be heard over John's and Sherlock's bickering. "Hold on to something!"</p>
<p>"What...?"</p>
<p>"Allons-y!"</p>
<p>Rose stumbled around the console, to press the buttons, the Doctor had assigned to her. even as she had a hard time keeping on her feet, as the TARDIS flew through time and space. She didn't get the chance to check on their two guests, but the two thuds told her all she needed to know. Hopefully, none of them needed to visit the med-bay, after they had landed. The thought had just entered her mind, when the TARDIS lurched hard to the left and Rose would have kissed the ground, if it hadn't been for two strong arms around her waist. "Careful."</p>
<p>Rose inhaled deeply, at the low rumble of the Doctor's voice and regretted it a second later, when his unique scent filled her nostrils and her heart skipped a beat, before starting to pound wildly in her chest. No one could fault her for such a reaction, when she was pressed against the Doctor like this. If she turned her head sideway, she would even be able to hear the pounding of his two hearts, but that would mean effectively cuddling up to him and she was certain that even he would notice that... Probably, as he had yet to realise how much it meant to her, when he was holding her hand, while they were strolling around on an alien planet. The TARDIS interrupted their hug, when she landed with a thud and the Doctor pushed Rose gentle aside and turned to address their guests. "Welcome to Planet 397b. The year is 3068 and the atmosphere is suitable for humans."</p>
<p>Rose glanced from the Doctor, who was beaming widely, to John and Sherlock. The two men were slowly getting back to their feet and while Sherlock looked absolutely excited, John appeared to be seconds away from getting sick, all over the floor of the TARDIS. The Doctor truly needed to improve his driving.</p>
<p>"What are you waiting for?" The Doctor shooed them towards the door. "Get outside!"</p>
<p>Rose shook her head fondly and followed behind the three men, only to stop just outside the TARDIS and gasp in wonder. It wasn't the violet grass ,that was gentle moved by a breeze and which reached as far as the eye could see, creating the impression of a violet ocean, that amazed her. Nor were it the pink trees or the little creatures that looked like hybrids of squirrels and rabbits. No, the truly amazing thing was located in the sky. Rose gaped, when she took in the numerous colours, that appeared to have exploded all over the dark sky.</p>
<p>"It's a supernova," the Doctor explained with not a little pride in his voice, "It took me some time to find the perfect planet, from which to watch it, without endangering any of us. Of course, we could have watched it from the TARDIS, but looking at it from another planet is much more exciting, don't you think?"</p>
<p>"You only needed two hours to find the exact locating in space and time to watch a supernova?" Rose raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, while the other two men were too busy staring up at the sky to say anything. She knew that the Doctor was brilliant, but even for him, this seemed like a huge feast.</p>
<p>The sheepish smile, that crossed his face, told her that something else was going on, before he even opened his mouth to confirm her suspicion. "I might have sped up the process a little, to get the star to explode on my schedule. Sherlock wanted to see a supernova," he added with a petulant lilt to his voice.</p>
<p>Rose shook her head fondly at that. It shouldn't surprise her, that the Doctor would burn up a star to make the childhood dream of a boy come true, since she had always known that he had a tender heart... <cite>hearts</cite>. It still filled her with a surge of warmth and she couldn't stop herself from reaching out towards him and intertwining her fingers with his. The Doctor didn't protest and only gave her hand a light squeeze, while they alternated between watching the maelstrom of colours in the sky and the two men, that were standing only a few feet away from them, but appeared to be in a world of their own, nonetheless.</p>
<p>"Sherlock," Rose heard John speak after some time – it could have been hours or mere minutes - and she strained her ears to hear more of the conversation. If there was a perfect moment for John, to try to initiate anything with Sherlock, then it would be now. </p>
<p>The Doctor let go of her hand and rummaged through the pockets of his coat, before a small device, that looked like an earplug, was pressed into Rose's hand. She raised an eyebrow at him, even as she watched him insert an identical plug in his ear and followed his example. "It intensifies the volume of specific sounds. I have calibrated it to only intensify the sounds, that are the same wavelength as human voices so it should be..." The Doctor stopped midsentence and Rose got why, when she heard the whisper of Sherlock's voice in her ear.</p>
<p>"Yes, John?"</p>
<p>A small pause and then: "I just wondered, are you still married to your work?" Rose held her breath, while she watched how Sherlock slowly turned his head towards John and she found the hand of the Doctor again to squeeze it, in excitement. "Why do you ask? And why do you ask now?"</p>
<p>Rose rolled her eyes at Sherlock's question. God, the man was supposed to be a genius, but he was really blind, in certain areas. John shrugged and gazed back up at the sky, before he replied and Rose could pick up the forced calmness, even through her earpiece. "It just came to mind."</p>
<p>Silence followed his words and Rose already feared, that this was the end of their conversation, when Sherlock spoke again. "I still consider myself married to my work."</p>
<p>Rose almost groaned aloud at that and if it hadn't been for the Doctor, holding onto her hand, she would have stormed over, to shake some sense into Sherlock. She stood by her former statement: Men were dumb.</p>
<p>"But," there was a hint of hesitance and nervousness in Sherlock's voice as he continued, "I consider you part of my work, John and therefore," Rose watched Sherlock wring his hands, when looked back up at him. "It wouldn't be cheating if you would like... I mean I would be amenable if you..."Rose squealed, in delight, when John surged forward, to claim Sherlock's lips in a kiss. Finally!</p>
<p>"Alright?" Rose heard John whisper and watched Sherlock claim his friend's lips in reply, before she took out the earpiece and held it out to the Doctor, who wore a tender expression on his face, while he watched the new couple kiss. Rose's heart jumped in her chest, as she looked at his warm, gentle eyes and took in the way his lips curled happily upwards. God, this man! When he was angry, he could evoke the fear of God in people's heart, to the point, that even Daleks were afraid of him, but right now he looked so gentle - almost vulnerable - that Rose only wanted to...</p>
<p>"Rose?" The Doctor was looking down at her questioningly, the soft smile still in place, while he regarded her with a fondness, that almost broke her heart. She chanced a look behind her, at the two men, who were still exchanging kisses, in between gazing up at the spectacle, in the sky, before her eyes flickered back to the Doctor. Maybe, it was the atmosphere of the planet, in combination with the surrealism of the supernova, in the sky above them, or the conversation she had had with John, that finally gave her the courage to do, what she had dreamed about, for so long.</p>
<p>Before Rose could think better of it, she grabbed the Doctor by the lapels of his coat and leaned upwards to kiss him. His lips were dry and cold against hers and remained absolutely unresponsive, as Rose moved her mouth gently against them. Her heart plumped to her feet, when hot shame surged through her body. She stumbled a step back and would have ended up on her behind, if it hadn't been for the steadying hand of the Doctor. Rose gulped and stared down at her feet, even though she felt the eyes of the Doctor on her. She wished that he would simply let go of her and turn away, to give her the chance to collect herself. Not that this wouldn't still be awkward, in an hour or two, but hopefully her face wouldn't be burning up, by then, anymore and maybe in a year or two, she would even be able to meet his eyes again. If he still wanted her to travel with him, after what she had just done. Not only had she forced an unwanted kiss on him, but worse yet, she had also given away the depth of her affection to the Doctor. Could he ignore that? And even if he could, did she want him to pretend that nothing had happened? But what was the alternative? Blood roared in Rose's ears, when she thought about leaving the TARDIS - leaving the Doctor - and returning to her dull life, in the London of 2006. She didn't want that, but she also didn't know how she would survive travelling with the Doctor, now, that he knew and...</p>
<p>"Rose." Against her will, her head snapped up ,at the way he called her name. The word still rolled gently from his lips, without a hint of disgust or accusation, but instead her name was underlined with warmth and Rose took heart from that. Bracing herself, she met his gaze and felt her heart stutter, in her chest, at the desperate expression on the Doctor's face. There were worlds of fear and hurt mirrored in his eyes and Rose only wanted to hold him close. To hold him, until his eyes were filled with laughter, once more.</p>
<p>"Rose." There was so much pain in his voice, when he looked helplessly at her. "Are you sure, that this is what you want?"</p>
<p>Rose's heart clenched painfully in her chest, at the insecurity, that filled his voice, even though the shrivelled seed of hope started to grow anew. "Yes," she replied, with as much certainty, as she could put into this one word. </p>
<p>"Really?" A forlorn look entered the Doctor's eyes. "I am not a good man, Rose," the Doctor admittedly, quietly and almost fearfully, "If we do this... if I kiss you... I will never let you go, again. Do you really..."</p>
<p>"Yes, Doctor." Rose pressed her hand to the Doctor's chest, to feel the erratic beat of his two hearts. Somehow, the knowledge, that he was just as affected as she was, calmed her a little. "I don't want to ever leave you. I want to be with you. Forever."</p>
<p>A harsh breath escaped the Doctor, at her admission and for a second she feared, that he would start to cry, when his body slumped, in something akin to defeat, before she was suddenly drawn against his body. Arms wrapped around her waist and held her pressed against him, before his lips descended upon hers. Rose clung to the Doctor in desperation, while he kissed her, like there was no tomorrow. And maybe there wasn't. Who knew? It didn't matter. Not as long as Rose got to feel the heartbeats of her Doctor against hers.</p>
<p>Their kiss could have lasted for mere minutes or it could have carried on for hours and it still wouldn't have been long enough for Rose, when the Doctor ended it, with a tender peck to her lips. Instead of drawing back completely though, he held onto her, as if afraid, that she would vanish, if he let go of her.</p>
<p>"Forever," the Doctor breathed and pressed their foreheads together and Rose could only smile through tears in her eyes.</p>
<p>"Yes," she whispered back, before their lips met anew and only the sky was witness to their newly fond love. The sky... and two men, who had also just discovered a love, that they had believed impossible, in the most unlikely of places. And above them all, a star was exploding and tinting the sky in every possible colour, as if the universe itself was giving its blessings.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>